Machine foe cutting lath tarns



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

H. S. DIX.- MAGHTNB TOR CUTTING LATE YARNS.

Patented Sept. 20,1892.

(No Model.) I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

H. S. DIX.

MAGHlNB POP. CUTTING LATH YARNS. No. 482,917. Patented Sept. 20, 1892.

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(No Modell.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

I-I. S. DIX. MACHINE FOB CUTTING LATH YARNS.

(No Model.) Y 4'Sheets-sheet 4.

H. S. DIX. MACHINE FOR CUTTING LATHYARNS.

No. 482,917. Patented Sept. 20, 1892.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. DIX, OF CHELSEA, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO SYLVESTER B. HINCKLEY, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FVOR CUTTING LATH-YARNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,917, dated September 20, 1892.

Application filed February 24, 1891. Serial No. 382,430. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY S. DIX, of Chelsea, in the county of Suolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Cutting Lath-Yarns, which will, in connection with the accompanying drawings, be hereinafter of the machine that is shown in Fig. 2. Fig.

4 is an end elevation taken at the right in Figs. 1 and 3 and at the left in Fig. 2 and with the feeding device removed. Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 4, but with the feeding device in place. Fig. 6 is a detached view to be eX- plained. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation showing the crank-shaft, the pulley thereon, the coating-clutch, the clu tch-key, and the retractile spring of said key. Fig. 8 is a side elevation showing the crank-shaft, pulley, clutch, clutch -key, armature, helix, and retractile spring. Fig. 9 is an elevation showing the crank-shaft and the interior of the pulley which is engaged by the clutch.A Fig. 10 is an elevation of the clutch-spline.

The object of my invention is to provide a machine that will with certainty and desired rapidity cut into intended lengths or sections a series of lath-yarns,77 so called, such yarns being first laid together to form a long cylindrical body termed a junk, and the invention consists in certain novel features and the combinations thereof, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Referring again to said drawings, A represents a main pillar resting upon the ioor and supporting the head or main portions of the machine, while B, B', B2, and B3 are supports of various parts of the machine to be described. A head C, having apassage through it, as shown in Figs. 1,` 2, and 8, is secured upon pillar A and has journaled in it near its top a crank-shaft a, on which is mounted a loose pulley b, which has secured to it a clutch c, which carries a spline 40, arranged to engage with and be disengaged from said pulley. Said clutch interlocks the pulley b with shaft a by means of spline 40, said spline being disconnected from the pulley by the rising of the inner end of the key or lever d when it is released from the electro-magnets 14, to the pole of which its outer end is drawn at the proper moment by its contact-plate 29, and at the proper moment when the outer end of said lever is raised to contact with the poles of the magnets the spring 41 instantly forces spline 40 intoits seat in pulley b, which seats are shown in Fig. 9, the inner end of said key d being beveled to an edge, so as to enter between said spline and the end face of the clutch. A pitman f, formed at its lower end as a cross-head that moves upon ways on head C, is secured upon the wrist-pin of the crank of shaft a, (see Fig. 2,) and in the lower portion of said pitman is secured a bar g, to which is secured the cutter h, the edge of which extends across the end face of tube or sleeve 1l, through which the junk that is being cut moves. In brackets n, secured to the base of said head C, are journaled the short shafts j j, upon which are secured the enmeshing gears 7c 7c, Fig. 5, motion being imparted thereto by abelt acting upon pulley Z, secured upon the lower shaft. Upon said shafts, respectively, are secured the groovefaced rolls 'm m, the circular opening between the same being exactly in line with the passage through sleeve o', so that as t-he junk is fed forward by the conjoint action of the rolls it passes onward through said sleeve till severed by knife h, as will be again referred to. Upon the lower shaft j is secured the pulley p, which drives belt t, that at its opposite end engages and drives pulley v on shaft w. (See Fig. l.) A pulley on said shaft w drives the carrier-belt 0c, which at its opposite end passes around a pair of idler-s. (See Figs. 1 and 2.) A bed y is arranged beneath the upper portion of belt 0c to support the junk, which by the action of the belt conjointly with rolls m is carried forward upon the belt in a right line till severed by the knife, as already stated.

A clearer-shaft z is pivotally supportedlin the top portion of the machine, as shown, and

is provided with a series of depending lingers 2, which extend close to but not touching belt When said shaft is at rest, the fingers are in the rear of belt so that when vibrated toward the front they will sweep the severed section of junk in that direction and upon the delivery-apron, to be described. Said shaft is rocked by means of -its rigid arm 3, to which is pivoted connector 4, that is at its lower end pivoted to the reciprocating bar 5, that is supported and slides in studs secured in head C, as shown, said bar carrying in its upper forked end a cam-roll 6, that engages cam 7, secured upon crank-shaft oz.` j (See Fig. 2.) Said cam is so formed and positioned upon shaft a. and relatively to roll 6 that the shaft and cam can rotate a limited distance before bar is started downward, thereby insuring the'severing of the junk by knife h before fingers 2 are moved into contact therewith.

When the crank of shaft a rises, it thereby allows bar 5 to rise, such action being eected by the retracting-spring 8, supported from above the machine and attached to arm 3, thereby not only holding the roll in contact with the cam, butl also swinging fingers 2 to their rearmost position in readiness to repeat the operation.

Upon shaft w, at the end opposite pulley v, is secured the bevel-gear 9, which en meshes wi th a similar gear 10, secured upon the roll-shaft 11, which drives the endless apron 12, which at its outer or front extremity is supported by a roll 13, and which carries to the packingcase the severed sections of junk as the same are swept upon the belt, as already specified.

To produce the intermitting rotation of crank-shaft a, and thereby the reci procation of cutter h, I employ the following-described devices: An electric conducting-Wire 15,duly supplied with a current, is secured to screwcap 17, mounted on the insulated metal plate 19, contact wherewith is made by arm 20, secured on rock-shaft 18, supported in sleeve 28, secured, like plate 19, on a wooden block 25. Said wire 15 is secured bya cap-screw to said shaft 18 and passes thence back to the electric generator, thus establishing a circuit. An electro-magnet consisting of coils 14 14, connected together and duly supported, as shown, is by a Wire 16 connected with wire 15 at a point before it reaches cap-screw 17 and at a point after it leaves the cap-screw in shaft 18. Auxiliary contact between said shaft 18 and sleeve 28 is had by means of angle-plate 3l, secured upon a wooden block 25 and resting upon the sleeve 28, a short wire being eX- tended from the shaft to said plate, as shown. To break the contact between arm 2O and plate 19, a rod 21 is secured in a standard secured upon block 25, as shown, and upon the front end of said rod is pivotally suspended the arm 22, upon which is pivoted the catch 23, which engages arm 24 secured upon shaft 18, as shown. The lower and broadened end of arm 22 is in such close proximity to the upper side of the j unit-carrying belt .fr that as the junk moves forward it engages the arm and takes it along with itself and, through 7o catch 23, arm 24, and shaft 18, breaksthe electric circuit by raising arm 20, secured on said shaft, from off the plate 19. When the direct circuit is thus broken, the current will pass by said wire 16 through the electro-magnet, when armature 29, secured on lever d, will be raised into contact with the poles of said magnet, thereby through lever d withdrawing the spline and allowing the clutch to interlock with pulley b, and thereby rotate shaft a, as specified, and through the means already described severing the junk and sweeping the section thus cut from belt w onto the carrier-apron 12, allowing the circuit-shifting devices to resume their former position automatically, thus removing the circuit from the electro-magnet, whereupon the armature falls, aided by spring e, in readiness to repeat the operation. When the outer end of key d is raised by the magnets and the spline 40 has been thereby allowed to engage pulley b, it will so continue for one revolution and no more, as the electric trip 23 on arm 22 will have momentarily sent the current through magnets 14 to liberate spline 40, which will be retracted by key d when it again reaches its lowest point, where the clutch Vstands when at rest, as it is exactly opposite the crank, and so as to allow the free passage of the junk past the cutter, except at the instant of severing it, so that the cutter shall not interfere with the passage of the junk through the guiding-sleeve.

It will be obvious that by adjusting and locking block 25 upon bar 27 at any desired point the sections of junk being severed may be of any length that the intended use may require. The sleeve i, against the end face of which the cuttingknife h acts in severing the junk, constitutes, in fact, one member of a shear or cutting-die, and hence must be made of first-quality cast-steel and duly tempered for the performance of the work required of it.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the mechanism, groove-faced rolls and a driven carrying-belt, a junk-severing cutter, with means to actuate the same, a clutch mechanism by which the knife-actuating devices may be rendered operative and inoperative, an electro-magnet arranged to operate the clutch-engaging devices, and an electric circuit connected with said magnet to render the same operative and provided with a circuit-breaker arranged to junk feeding consisting of a pair of driven IOO IIO

be actuated by contact therewith of the junk as it is advanced by the feeding device.

2. In a j ank-cutting machine, the combinaf tion, with a feeding and severing mechanism, of the clearer, consisting of shaft z, having fingers 2, the arm 3, arranged on said shaft, the shaft a,

rotated, and the cam 7, secured on said shaft a arranged to be periodically l tric circuit embracing said magnets and pro- 1o vided with a circuit-breaker with the actuator thereof arranged in the path of the junk as moved forward by said feeding devices.

HENRY S. DIX.

Witnesses:

T. W. PORTER, H. H. LETTENEY. 

